Chest Pains
by Anna-Jay
Summary: FINISHED: Poor Abe, he does one good deed and ends up getting ill. Fortunately, Captain Waka has returned to the ship. Will this help Abe's chest pains, or make it worse? WakaAbe NOT OC PAIRING!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Okami, Abe, Waka, or anything in the game. Clover does and they rock!**

**Okay, you could say that this pairing is what made me play the game. My friend started talking about the pairing and wanted to read fanfiction of it, so I bought the game and wrote this to make my friend happy :D Oh, and if you have no idea who the POV character is, that's Abe, the Tao Trooper you help out in a subquest in Sei-An City. HE IS NOT A OC!!! Also, this story was betaed by my friend Spelshi (also the one I wrote this story for).**

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It started like a normal day on the job. Standing there quite bored while waiting for someone to come and give me orders to do something. Sei-An City was surrounded by a strange mist that made everybody sick and weak. I wasn't affected since I was up here in the Tao Trooper's floating ship, far away from the strange mist. Even though we were the Tao Troopers and should be doing something, we were given orders to stay away from the area by Queen Himiko.

Orders are orders after all... But it doesn't seem right to be up here, away from danger when the citizens were in danger...

I sighed before sitting down on the ground and looking at the ground. As I sat there, time passing, another Tao Trooper came by quite quickly. I blinked up at him, watching as he paced back and forth. He was muttering something and was looking out the entrance of the Tao Trooper Ship. I heard him say something about Sei-An City and another thing that I couldn't make out. I stared at him for minute more before making myself known.

"Can I help you with anything?" The other Trooper jumped, before turning my direction.

"Oh! Hello, Abe... Well... It's just that... I want to go help the citizens some how..." I looked at him before sighing.

"Don't we all? Unfortunately we can't, orders are orders." The other Tao Trooper looked quite sad before looking at an object that he had in his hands. I looked closer at it and noticed that it was a bottle of medicine.

"Well... I have a friend down there and she's probably in pain..." I shook my head.

"If we help one we have to help them all, which we can't even do with the Queen's orders..." The look the other Trooper gave me was so sad and pitiful I truly didn't know what to do. We stared at each other for some time before I sighed and stood up. "Who is it and where does she live." After saying that, I soon found myself in a tight hug.

"Oh! Thank you, Abe!!" I smiled before squirming out of the hug.

I somehow know I am going to regret this some how...

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Finding the girl wasn't that hard. Her house was by the markets and I was able to go unseen by the other civilians. When I saw her she was in bed asleep. I was really quiet, but she still woke up anyway. She looked at me and smiled before introducing herself as Kana. I told her my name and then told her why I was here. This made her smile more before sitting up.

"He and I have been friends since we were little. It's just like him to be concerned about me." Her voice was real horse and when she took in a breath she let out a wheeze. I gave her the medicine and told her to get plenty of rest. I then made my way quickly to the Tao Trooper's Floating Ship. The other trooper was still standing there when I got back. I told him that I had given his friend the medicine, and that it would probably wouldn't do much. He just smiled before thanking me again. He then went off to return to his job. This left me to go back to my post. Soon, things went back to how it was before. I was on the ground looking at the celestial statues that lined the wall. Hours passed and all was still normal.

That was, until now.

My chest started to feel strange and it was getting harder to breath. I was able to ignore it for awhile, but soon it became quite noticeable. It became more and more painful and harder to breathe. That was probably the time I decided to go see the medical doctor we had on the ship with us. I was halfway down the hallway when I started coughing. I kept coughing and coughing and when I needed air, my lungs felt as if they were burning. The shock of pain that went through my chest was so painful that it had soon knocked me unconscious.

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When I finally woke, I found myself in the Tao medical center. The pain in my chest was not as painful as before, but still quite noticeable. I lay there for a few moments before sitting up slowly. The room smelt like medicine and herbs. There were a few plants that decorated the room, but other than that the room mostly had medical things. As I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, one of the Tao doctors came in. Seeing that I was awake, he rushed over to me to make sure I was well. After doing so, he crossed his arms and scowled at me.

"You went down to Sei-An City even when we were given orders not to, didn't you?" I looked down, quite ashamed that I had done something against Queen Himiko's orders. I was going to tell him why I did go down to the city when I had another coughing attack. Even though this one hurt my lungs just as the first one did, it didn't knock me out. When it finally stopped, I heard the doctor sigh and walk over to one of the many cabinets. As he looked through it, he spoke.

"Abe, it wasn't a wise idea to go down there. I know what you did since it was Jinn who found you. He was the Trooper who wanted to help his friend."

Ah, so that was who that was.

The doctor continued, " While you were doing your good deed, you must have stayed there too long. Your lungs are slightly damaged from the strange mist and will take some time to recover. Here, Abe. Take this." He handed me a small bottle of herbal medicine. "You are to take one teaspoon once a day until it is gone and if you keep doing it your lungs should recover without any strange side effects. Although you may want to take it easy and not do anything that may hurt your lungs. Running is one of them and you might want to stay away from dusty things." I blinked up at him.

"But... There is dust everywhere..." The doctor rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean, Abe. Now take one of these before you to bed tonight. I hope you get better and not pull a stunt like that again." I nodded and bowed.

"Thank you." With that, I left to go back to my post.

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The moon was just starting to rise when I got back to my chamber. I took off my Tao mask and hat and set them down on the stand besides my bed. I also set the bottle of herbal medicine that the doctor had given me. I went to go get ready for bed, getting into my evening clothes and locking my room door. I got back to my bed, holding a spoon I had grabbed from the Tao kitchen. I then grabbed the medicine bottle and sat down. I reread the instructions before opening the bottle. As soon as I opened it, the sent of cherry blossoms filled the room. It was a good smell, I suppose. It was better smelling than the kind of medicine you get out of the regular shops. I carefully poured some of the sweet smelling medicine on the spoon, I noticed that the medicine was a bluish color.

How in the world did that happen. You would think that something like cherry blossom smelling medicine would be pink or something. Oh well.

As I took the medicine, I was expecting it to taste bad. It didn't! That was strange, but then again when you have a doctor like the one on the Tao Trooper Ship, nothing was impossible for him. I gently put the medicine back on the nightstand, closing the lid and setting the spoon beside it. I then got into bed and turned out the candle that was on the nightstand. The room would have been completely dark, if it weren't for the glow of the moon. I laid my head down on my pillow and started to drift off into a peaceful sleep...

Which didn't last very long.

A siren was sounded, meaning that all of the Tao Troopers were to report to the main room. I sighed before getting up. I quickly got dressed, put my hat and mask back on, and hurried out the door.

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I made it to the very unexpected meeting, fixing my hat while I stood next to the other Tao Troopers. It wasn't a very wise idea to run down to the hallway. As I stood there, clutching my chest from the slight pain, one of the main Tao Troopers came into view. He, like the rest of us, looked really tired. I saw him stifle a yawn before quieting the crowded room.

"All right, all right. I know it's a bit late and that you all were probably sleeping. The reason for this late meeting is because of a message we have gotten from Tao Master Waka."

Tao Master Waka?! Just hearing his name made me light headed. I admired Waka so much I would be quite afraid to meet him face to face with out saying something totally stupid. I was thinking so much of Waka that I almost didn't notice the Tao Trooper started talking again.

"Waka has been concerned about the city and the strange mist consuming it. So, he is going to be coming by and staying with us for a day or two. That is all. Go back to bed."

As everybody went on their way back to their rooms, I just stood there in shock. Waka, was going to be staying here? In the Tao Trooper Ship? It was a dream come true! As I turned and walked back to my room, I could feel that the grin on my face was not going to fade away anytime soon.

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The next morning, after I had gotten dressed, I went to the doctor just to make sure I took the medicine right. As I was walking down the hall, I still had a smile on my face from the night before. I just couldn't believe it! I was going to meet Captain Waka! The thought made my heart flutter. Then I just thought of something. The reason the Captain would come to the base would be because Queen Himiko gave him the orders to go. Then, when he's not with the Queen, Waka would just lock himself up in his room. None of us will probably get to see him.

Sighing, I slowly made my way into the medical center.

The room was empty, no doctor in sight. Staring at the room with confusion, I slowly looked around the room. It was the same as before, only a bit cleaner. I then looked over to the bulletin board that was by the window and saw that there was a note on it. Walking over to it, I finally understood why nobody was in the medical center.

---GOOD MORNING---

The medical center is closed due to the arrival of Captain Waka.

If you need anything, please take the medicine that you need.

DO NOT TAKE MORE THAN WHAT YOU NEED!!!

If you must see me then you can find me in my room.

----Thank you and have a nice day!---

I smiled and shook my head. Oh well.. It was a good thing I didn't really need the doctor. I made my way out of the medical center and down to my post. When I got down to my post, I found Jinn standing there. He was looking at the Celestial Statues before he noticed me.

"Oh! Good morning Abe! How are you?" I smiled and gave a wave.

"Hello, Jinn. I'm doing better this morning." After I said that, Jinn looked down at his feet.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to you. I didn't think the mist would affect you so quickly... I'm really sorry!" I sighed before shaking my head.

"Don't worry your self, Jinn. I'm fine and it's not that bad. I just have to take some medicine until it's gone. It's not that bad." Jinn looked at me before nodding. I smiled and walked over to the spot I normally stood at. I then looked over at him before crossing my arms. "Hey, aren't you suppose to be getting to your post soon?" Jinn blinked before his eyes got big. He then ran off to his post, saying a quick good-bye.

I shook my head before leaning against the wall. I then looked over to the entrance and saw that Kamo was already standing at his post. He looked over at me and waved, I did the same. Kamo then shifted feet before turning to face me.

"Captain Waka is in Sei-An City now." My heart began to flutter.

"How do you know?"

"He stopped by when I was just getting to my post. He told me that he was on his way to the Queen's Palace. He also said that he would return around noon." I sighed. Dang, that was in another four hours. I don't think I'm going to make it. Sighing again I looked at Kamo again.

"Did he say why the Queen asked him to come to Sei-An City?" Kamo paused for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah... Well... Not really, but he did say something about a white wolf and a small bug or something. Captain said to let them into the base if they showed up. Their names are Amaterasu and Issun." I raised an eyebrow.

"A white wolf and a bug?" That was quite unusual, but in Captain Waka's office there is something in there about a white wolf. Maybe it's the same one. Kamo laughed at my expression.

"Yeah, that's what I said, but the Captain just said to let them in if they showed up." I nodded before turning to look at the celestial statues. The strange statues that had angelic wings in their heads looked down at me as I looked up at them. I saw Kamo shake his head before looking off at the entrance again. I then heard him sigh before he sat down and leaned against the doorway. "There is nothing much to do around here now that the Queen has ordered us to stay away from Sei-An City." I heard him sigh again before he shook his head. "I don't like not doing anything..." I waited for him to finish, but he didn't. He remained quiet, staring off into the sky in boredom. I let out a sigh myself before closing my sleepy eyes.

It was going to be a long four hours.

----to be continued...

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**Ooh! I wonder what's going to happen? Review please:D**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm soo sorry I have not posted this chapter up in a long... long time. Had the worse writters block. That and I worked on some other stories for Okage Shadow King. Hope you like this:D **

**Disclaimer: do not own Okami or other characters... Jinn I made up at the top of my head so I own him.**

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Somewhere between the first hour and the second hour I must have dozed off. I was surprised that I hadn't fallen to the ground when I fell asleep. Fortunately, I was leaning against the pillar when I had fallen asleep, which kept me up right. During the time I was asleep, I had really strange dreams. One was about a wolf, another was about Sei-An City, and my very favorite one was about Waka. Oh how I wish I could have stayed asleep forever in order to spend as much time with Captain Waka! I sighed gazed dreamily at the Celestial statues as I thought over the dream. I must have caught Kamo's attention, for he turned to look at me. I heard a muffled laugh and saw him shake his head out of the corner of my eye.

"Abe, are you okay? You look strange." I felt my face heat up before shaking my head to clear all of my thoughts. I then smiled at Kamo and fiddled with my mask in embarrassment. Kamo laughed and shook his head before looking down at the city. I quickly regained my composure and looked around the room. Still the same old entrance room. Looking around again, I walked over to were Kamo was standing. The other Tao Trooper was gazing down at the mist-covered City in boredom. I also looked down, watching the clouds of poisonous gas swirl around the buildings. I then looked over toward Gen's clock tower, wanting to see what time it was. Unfortunately, the contraption wasn't working. I sighed before turning to Kamo.

"Do you know what time it is Kamo?" I asked, hopeful that it was almost noon. Kamo shrugged his shoulders and turned in the direction I had currently looked in. I heard him curse.

"That crazy old inventor still hasn't fixed that stupid clock tower! Useless old..." He began to mutter under his breath. I heard him use a word I haven't heard before. I blinked at him, and tilted my head.

"Kamo? What's a--"

"Nothing!" He quickly cut me off, his face lighting up slightly. "It means nothing! So, you want to know what time it is..." He squinted up at the sky before looking back at me. "I'm assuming that it's about eleven... maybe..." My heart skipped a beat.

"Really? You think that it really is eleven?" Once again I was thankful that my mask covered most of my face. My cheeks were slightly flushed pink at the thought that I only had one hour until Captain Waka came to the ship. I think Kamo rolled his eyes at me before he stretched his arms above his head.

"Have you eaten yet, Abe?" He asked me suddenly. I opened my mouth to say yes, but my stomach disagreed with me. Kamo laughed before waving his hand. "Why don't you go get something to eat, I'll call if I see the Captain." I didn't like that idea very much. If Waka came and saw that I wasn't at my post, he might think I was incapable of doing my job. He might even fire me! My face paled at the though and I felt sick to my stomach. Kamo saw the color change in my face and was quick to ask me if I was okay. It took me a moment to regain my composure before answering.

"I'm fine, Kamo. I was just thinking." Kamo nodded before waving his hand again.

"Go eat. I'll make sure to get you if Waka comes." I would have argued, but once again my belly was against me. Sighing, I turned and walked out of the entrance way and down to the kitchens.

When I entered, I found the kitchen staff busy with cooking, cleaning, and organizing the cafeteria and kitchens. I had to dodge my way around the workers in order to get to the kitchen line. I stood there, watching the others before a cook came up to me and asked what I wanted. I asked for an orange and some milk. Even though that is not a big meal, it would settle my stomach for a couple of hours. I sat down at one of the empty tables and ate my orange in silence. As I ate, I saw Jinn helping the crew. I waved at him when he was turned in my direction. He waved back before going back to his work. I shook my head and took a sip from the glass of milk. Ten minutes passed before Jinn came and accompanied me at my table. He was covered in grime and some food remains. My eye quirked when I saw this and he just smiled.

"We had some trouble with the blenders..." I smiled in return before eating my last orange slice. Jinn shrugged before crossing his arms. "Why aren't you at your post? You were there when I left." I nodded in agreement before explaining that Kamo sent me to go get something to eat since I didn't earlier. Jinn made a noise in agreement before taking a napkin that I had and wiped the grime from his face. I took the moment to look around before looking at Jinn.

"Do you know what time it is by any chance?" Jinn stopped what he was doing before looking at his pocket watch. He made a face before shaking it.

"Sorry," He apologized as he put the watch to his ear. "my watch it not working. If it helps any, it stopped at eleven." I stared blankly at him before sighing. I drank the rest of my milk before standing.

"I must get back to my post. Captain Waka will be here at any moment." After saying this, Jinn seemed to realize that was the reason for why we were cleaning the Ship. He got up quickly and started off toward the resting quarters.

"I must change quickly! See ya!" Before I could say good-bye, the red head ran off. Shaking my head I threw away the orange peels and dropped the glass cup with one of the cleaning crew. I then hurried off to my post, being careful to not hurt my lungs.

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As walked down to my post, I saw many troopers surrounding the entrance. My first thought was that Captain Waka was here. My face got warm at the thought and my pace quickened. As I got closer, I realized that the group of Troopers wasn't about Waka, but about something else. I quickly make my way through the crowd, hearing bits and pieces of their conversations.

"Did you see that?"

"What happened?"

"It attacked him."

"Is Kamo still alive?"

_'Kamo?!?' _I hurried to the front where the chief Tao Trooper was. He was staring down at the clouds of poison. He turned his head when he heard me coming and glared at me.

"Why were you not at your post, Abe? If you had been here this attack might not have happened!" I couldn't reply. I just stared down at the city.

Then, suddenly, sounds of metal on metal and inhuman cries came from the mist. The chief and I leaned against the railing to try and see what was happening. The mist made it hard to see, but I caught a glimpse of white and purple-blue.

_'That's our uniform colors! It's Kamo! He's still alive.'_ I thought happily. I then heard the sound of wings flapping and squawking. I suddenly realized what he was up against. _'A Ubume? What's one doing in Sei-An City?' _I didn't have much to think about it, for I could see that Kamo wasn't doing so good. With trying to dodge the attacks of the Ubume and breathing in the poisonous gas, Kamo wasn't going to make it unless someone helped him.

Without thinking, I took a deep breath and jumped over the railing. I heard the chief shout something, but I couldn't hear him. I fell down into the swirling mist and landed awkwardly in a bush. I quickly got to my feet and got a better grip around my trident spear. I then lifted my shirt over my nose to try and protect myself from the mist. I ran forward toward the sounds of the fight Kamo was in, ignoring the pain in my chest.

It didn't take long before I found Kamo. His uniform was all torn and blood was smeared on his face. He was looking around, trying to find the Ubume. I looked around too. Where was it? Kamo still hadn't acknowledged me yet, his back turned to me. When he did turn around, he jumped when he saw me, before he calmed down slightly.

"What took you so long?" He said this with a weak smile. His smile quickly vanished, however and his eyes widened. "Abe look out it's behind you!" I turned just in time to see the flash of pink fly at me. I quickly lifted my weapon to block, but still ended up getting knocked to the ground. The hit knocked out the air I was holding in. This made me gasp in the poisonous air, filling my burning lungs. The Ubume made another swoop at me, but Kamo blocked the attack.

"Abe! Get out of here! Your lungs are already damaged from yesterday!" He made a thrust with the trident, but the Ubume opened up it's umbrella and blocked it. It then closed the umbrella and swung it around, knocking Kamo into a tree. The demon bird was distracted with attacking Kamo, so I used the time to stab it with my weapon. The Ubume cried out in pain and tried to dislodge the trident. While it was trying, I ran over to Kamo, who was unconscious. I grabbed his upper torso and dragged him toward the Ship. I couldn't go that fast, for the burning in my chest was so unbearable. I was half way there when the Ubume got the trident out of it's side and was now flying toward me. To make things worse, my eyesight became fuzzy and my lungs felt like they were going to explode. Soon blackness was creeping along the edge of my vision.

_'No! If I pass out now we'll both die!' _I tried to shake it off, but it was no use. I staggered to the ground, Kamo falling on my legs. The Ubume seemed to sense our disadvantage and flew high in the air before diving down. I lifted my arm up in a feeble attempt to protect myself against the attack and closed my eyes, waiting for the final blow.

But it never came.

An inhuman scream filled the air and the sound of a blade cutting through flesh reached my ears. I opened my eyes to see the Ubume fall to the ground in half. I blinked my eyes to stay conscious, but I could tell I was not going to win. As my vision faded, I saw a flash of white and gold running toward me.

---to be continued.

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**I will have the next one up much sooner than the last one. Next one will be the last chapter. See ya soon**


	3. Chapter 3

**I FINALLY FINISHED IT!! *cough* *cough* Little excited and happy to finally get it done. Third chapter up and finished. Hope you like it.**

**Also, finished for my friend's birthday :D So that's a bonus for both of us.**

**None of the characters or game belong to me, the are owned by Clover Studios.**

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Darkness. That was all I saw. Having awoken from my unconscious state, my fuzzy mind finally put the facts together that I was laying on something. What it was, was beyond me. My senses were not working correctly. All I could feel was numbness. I could see darkness. I couldn't hear anything.

It was the most annoying experience ever.

While my limbs tried to move, my mind began to think back to what had happened just a while ago. The more I thought, the more I became upset. My mind began to race and try to get a grasp on reality. What had happened? Where was Kamo? Did I save him? Or was he in the Ubume's stomach? What was that white and pink object that was coming toward me?

I once again tried to move my hand, my fingers twitching in the process. So I could move, barely. I strained my eyes, attempting to open them, but to no avail. I had only begun to realize that there was a cloth over my eyes, which explained the slight pressure and wetness on my closed lids. I gave up trying to open them and focused on other things.

My limbs felt like lead so there was no point in moving them. I did try though and managed to tire myself out more. I breathed in sharply in annoyance.

The sudden excruciating shot of pain made me cry out. That hurt much more than before! Having gone to save Kamo must have damaged my already poisoned lungs even more. I made slow and shallow breaths as I attempted to remain calm. The pain sent adrenalin through my body and my sense of hearing increased.

That was when the soft padding of feet caught my attention. Whoever it was must have heard me and was coming to investigate. I listened as the foot steps stopped at my right and the sound of breathing was replaced. Nothing happened for the longest time before what felt like a hand was placed on my forehead. Another moment passed and the hand was removed and came to rest on my shoulder.

"Abe, êtes-vous éveillé?" A soft voice spoke. I wasn't expecting the voice and numbly jumped in surprise. It was quite a strange feeling, for my body seemed to do it without my command. Soft laughter turned my attention back to the person next to me. The person made me so — calm. My body relaxed at their own will and all I wanted was to fall asleep.

"Désolé, Abe. I didn't mean to frighten you." The voice apologized, but I could hear laughter hidden in there. But I didn't get offended, no. My mind was working on who the voice belonged to. It was so familiar, but in my still foggy state it was difficult to pin point who's.

Suddenly, I knew exactly who it was.

I gasped, soon regretting doing so for the pain intensified in my chest. How could I not know who that this was Tao Master Waka talking to me? That and he's speaking another language that he's become known for!

I tried to sit up and show proper respect, but Waka's hand was still pressed against my shoulder. He gently pushed me down the rest of the way and pressed both hands against my shoulders.

"Na uh," Waka's calm voice cooed at me. "I have heard your listening skills could use some work. Like how you are not to go down to Sei-An City."

I flinched, expecting him to be angry at me. He continued, "You disobeyed this order twice now. You also didn't listen to the doctor and take it easy on your lungs," He lifted one hand to tap at my chest. My breath hitched when he splayed his hand on the area.

I had heard stories about what Tao Master Waka does when he is angry and I waited for his fury.

It never came though.

What came was a warm and soothing sensation in my chest. It spread outward to my arms and legs before coming back up to my chest. When the feeling ended, I found myself feeling numb once more, but rather numbly blissful. My blissfulness changed to wonder as I took in a deep breath. There was absolutely no pain. None at all.

My puzzlement was cut short when the cloth on my eyes was lifted and removed. I stared hazily at the ceiling, blinking away the dampness. It was either night or dusk out, for the room was encased in darkness. There was a candle lit on the night stand next to me. I then realized that I was in the hospital wing.

I listened to what Waka was doing in the background and heard the sound of water and humming. The water stopped and the foot falls came back to me. My eyes snapped to his figure, which was slightly silhouetted by the candle. His white hat swayed with the slightest movement and his eyes gazed down at me. I still expected anger from him, but there was only kindness and slight worry.

"You should listen more to your superiors, Abe. We know what's best." He began to place the cloth back over my eyes before he winked at me. "Or we'll have to punish you." He covered my eyes, which I now thanked for since it helped cool my burning face.

Captain Waka hummed some merry tune as he walked around the hospital wing. He came back and placed something on the night stand.

"Here's your medication for your lungs. Just because I healed you doesn't mean that you should stop taking it," he stated smartly. I listened to the sounds of the medicine bottle uncapping and pouring liquid. There was a pause after that before a pair of lips pressed against mine. The shock that went through me intense. I gasped in shock, but was even more surprised as the strange tasting medication ran down my throat.

Waka released my lips from his and stood up from the bed. I laid there in shear shock, almost not even noticing what the Captain was saying.

"Bonne nuit, mon ami. Sleep well," Captain Waka cheerfully said.

He began to sing some song in French as he walked away, his foot steps becoming farther and farther away. When it became completely quiet, I managed to bring my hand up and brought it to my lips. Tao Master Waka kissed me. He kissed me! My heart was overwhelmed with joy. A smile graced my lips and I gave out a happy sound of glee.

It was a dream come true!

The next morning I was allowed to go to my post. Kamo was there also, which surprised me. He was battered up with scratches and bruises, but he smiled and waved me good morning.

"Hey, Abe! Thanks for saving me yesterday. Means a lot to me," Kamo said, patting me on the back.

I smiled back and shook my head.

"It was nothing. Heck we both would have died if Captain Waka hadn't showed up. You really should be thanking him," I replied, feeling uncomfortable with the flattery Kamo was showing me.

"I already have," Kamo said cheerfully. "Did you thank him? If you haven't he's in his quarters doing who knows what."

I opened my mouth to say that I have thanked him, but then remembered that I hadn't said a thing during his visit to me. A sense of dread came over me.

Oh no! What if he thinks I'm ungrateful? He may never speak to me again!

I turned to run to the Captain's room when Kamo stopped me. "Wait… No Captain Waka isn't here anymore. Queen Himiko called him away early this morning," Kamo smiled uneasily and gave me a look that said "sorry".

I smiled back and shook my head. Same ol' Kamo. I went into position and stood ready at my post. It was all silent, except when Kamo asked, "Abe, where's your mask?"

My mask? I put a hand up on my face and found that the item was missing. I would have noticed it right away, but my mind had been on the Captain since I woke up. I thought back to when I was putting my uniform on to realize that it was missing then too. The uniform was all laid out for me by the doctor.

Oh no! My mask must have fallen off when I was fighting the Ubume! I needed my mask other wise I would get into so much trouble! I glanced to the entrance of the ship before sighing. I wasn't going to risk another tongue lashing from the commander.

I gazed sadly out side to the poisoned city. It's going to be a long time before I get my mask back, I was sure of that. I turned my gaze away, but as I did, I was sure I heard the sound of a dog barking.

But, that probably was my imagination.

~Fin

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**Hope everyone enjoyed the story! :D Also, not sure if the French is correct, so if it isn't please correct me.**


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